Ivan Golunov arrest: Russian reporter is freed after public outcry

A Russian journalist has been freed after drug-dealing charges against him were dropped following a public outcry.

Russian newspapers had rallied round freelancer Ivan Golunov in a rare public show of support.

Mr Golunov cried as he was freed from a police station on Tuesday and vowed to continue his investigative journalism.

Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev admitted his guilt had “not been proven” and said an internal inquiry had been launched.

The decision came after “forensic, biological, fingerprinting and genetic tests”, the minister added.

Mr Kolokoltsev said he would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismiss two high-ranking officials over the case: the head of the Interior Affairs Directorate of Moscow’s Western Administrative District, Gen Puchkov, and the head of the Drugs Control Directorate, General Devyatkin.

A file on the case had been sent to criminal investigators, Mr Kolokoltsev said. It would be up to them “check the legality of actions by officers directly involved in the detention of this citizen”, he added.

What happened to Ivan Golunov?

Mr Golunov, 36, is a freelance journalist who had been working for the Latvia-based news website Meduza, among others. The news site was established by Russian journalists from Lenta.ru, who formed their own outlet abroad after a takeover by a new pro-Kremlin owner.

Supporters immediately claimed the journalist was innocent and a victim of fabricated drug charges, which activists say are used against opposition figures and human rights activists by the Russian state.

Analysis: A serious embarrassment

By Jonah Fisher in Moscow

This case was becoming a serious embarrassment for the Russian authorities.

At the weekend the police had to retract pictures they’d released of drugs paraphernalia, when it was pointed out that they weren’t from inside Ivan Golunov’s apartment.

Then today a series of forensic tests failed to establish any link between the journalist and the drugs stash.

Image copyrightAFPImage caption Three major newspapers launched a synchronised defence of Mr Golunov

It was becoming very hard to argue with Mr Golunov’s supporters who said, from the very start, that he’d been set up, targeted because of his hard-hitting investigative reports.

The decision to drop charges against investigative journalist Ivan #Golunov is a positive outcome to this particular case. However, trend with respect to media freedom in 🇷🇺 remains worrying. Independent, as well as critical voices are an essential part of any vibrant society. https://t.co/hKL0vG2lRo

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